When the left hand meets the right

It’s a case of obstruction of justice; what’s at issue is who did the obstructing.

CBS News’ Sharyl Attkisson reports that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) seized a batch of guns that the ATF was trying to smuggle into Mexico. Dozens of firearms, which the ATF is trying to get the DEA to return, were confiscated when the DEA stopped several ATF-approved gunrunners…

CBS News has learned that the DEA has confiscated a stash of assault rifles connected to ATF’s Fast and Furious operation. It’s a major seizure of weapons in the controversial ATF case that’s the subject of at least two investigations. Sources say it’s believed the suspects intended to take the guns to Mexico.

Sources say DEA accidentally came upon the guns while stopping suspects in an unrelated case in the Phoenix area on April 13th. When agents stopped at least two suspects, they found two giant garbage cans full of dozens of AK-47 type weapons wrapped in cellophane. Sources tell CBS News that a trace on the first weapon showed it was purchased in Nov. 2009 by a suspect in ATF’s Fast and Furious case.

Now what ought to catch your eye in that quote are the dates. The rifles seized were purchased as early as November of 2009, but DEA grabbed them in April of this year; year and a half later. What were they doing here? And by here I mean not in Mexico. It doesn’t seem plausible that the suspect was driving around for months with trashcans full of guns. Could it be that he couldn’t sell them in Mexico and was re-importing them to the US?

Now, to answer that question, remember that the 90% Myth is off by 180°; 90% of the cartel guns in Mexico don’t come from the US. They are military weapons that come from Mexican government arsenals and from Central America. So if you’re an American gunrunner, your competition South of the Border are those smugglers who can get their hands on stolen military weapons. And the cartels want those guns, not your AK-wannabes. You have convince your cartel customers to buy a weapon that’s incapable of full-auto fire, and would thus need a trip to the gunsmith’s, instead of NIB one that’s ready to rock-and-roll. So there’s a good chance that, despite Obama’s illegal gun sales stimulus plan, you wouldn’t be able to peddle your wares South of the Rio Grande. So what would you do with them? Bury them under a rock with a gila monster? Not likely.

So what would an American gunrunner do with a trashcan full of guns that he can’t sell in Mexico? Why not take them back to the US and sell them there? Now I admit that this is a bit of a stretch, but it does explain why those guns weren’t long gone into Mexico in April. And if true, it also means that the Obama Administration’s policy of arming criminals is putting lives in danger on both sides of the border.